Do a Little Dance
by Hawki
Summary: Oneshot: Despite Zelda's claims to the contrary, Link most certainly did not dance.


_A/N_

_So _Cadence of Hyrule _is a thing._

_I repeat: _Cadence of Hyrule _is a thing._

_Whatever the nature of this thing, got me to drabble this up._

* * *

**Do a Little Dance**

It would have to be one of the strangest adventures he'd ever had. And by the Golden Goddesses, he'd had some strange ones.

Saving Hyrule from an evil wizard? Simple enough, until he'd been drawn into the Dark World, and forced to hop back and forth between dimensions until slaying a giant pig monster. Holodrum and Labrynna? Travelling through seasons had been weird, travelling through time had nearly made his head explode. And, of course, it had culminated with yet another confrontation with a giant pig monster.

And then there was Koholint. In a way, it barely counted. In another way, it had counted all the more. Even if he'd been fighting to survive just within his mind, it had felt as real as any other task that had been set before him. When a monster's claws had cut his flesh, it had felt real. When he'd awoken the Wind Fish, it had felt real. When he'd awoken upon the Great Sea, seeing the seagull up above and daring to hope that Marin had found her own dream…that had been real. It had felt real then, and all the way back to Hyrule itself.

But it hadn't ended there. There'd been the girl, Cadence, and then Hyrule had lost any pretext of sanity, and if his first adventure had taught him anything, it was that the entire world was just one step away from going off the deep end. There'd been monsters. Dancing monsters. Monsters with guitars. Darknuts jumping towards him in a 4/4 beat. He'd been syncopated, he'd been recapitulated, he'd been sharp, and in his darkest moments, felt flat. The coda had been reached in the end, and thankfully, with the latest threat to Hyrule dealt with and Cadence returning to her own world, there had been no encore after the end.

He whacked himself on the head. The music was still with him. That constant music, those rhythms…maybe he'd saved Hyrule from insanity, but he'd restored some clarity, though it had been with some profanity, and-

_Stop it!_

He hit himself over the head.

"Link, are you alright?"

He didn't hit himself a third time. Because he remembered that he was in the gardens of Hyrule Castle, and that men, even heroes such as himself, didn't act stupid in front of princesses.

_Are queens fair game?_

He didn't know. "Queen Zelda" didn't have quite the same right as "Princess Zelda," but who was he to comment on royal terminology? Most of the time, he didn't bother commenting on much at all.

"Link?"

"Fine," he said. "Absolutely fine."

"Oh," she said. "That's nice…"

She didn't look convinced, and he was left to ask how he'd even got here.

It had all been a blur. The music, the monsters, the Necrodancer as Cadence had called him. At the end of it all, farewells had been said, she'd returned to her own world, and he'd been left to ask "what next?" Apparently, what next involved strolling around the castle gardens. Walking very, very slowly, alongside Princess Zelda, who was also walking very, very slowly…

_Oh for another spell._

First time he'd been in these gardens, he'd been hiding from brainwashed soldiers. Now…he glanced round the back of his neck. Sure enough, two of Hyrule's best and brightest were trailing them. Far enough to give the princess some privacy, not so far as to leave her defenceless. Though of course, based on what he'd seen Zelda do over the past few days, he had to admit that "defenceless" was one of the least apt words to describe her. In fact, as he watched her twiddle a lavender between her fingers, the first word to describe her would probably be-

"I should go," he said.

She looked up at him. "What?"

"I should go," he repeated. He gave her a quick bow. "I bid you farewell, my lady, but…" He nodded towards the castle gate. "I should go."

He walked as fast as he could without breaking into a run. He couldn't be here any longer. In truth, even his home felt like a prison. He'd tasted adventure. He'd travelled through time, space, and the mind. Anything else wasn't meant for a person like him. And people like him most certainly didn't walk through gardens smelling flowers. Approaching the gate, he looked up at the guard tower, giving a motion for the man to open the gate. Unfortunately, nothing happened.

"Um, hello?" Link asked.

The guard just stood there, leaving the Hero of Hyrule to gesture to the giant slab of wood that separated him from freedom.

"You going to, oh, I don't know, open the gate?"

The guard remained silent.

"You're not brainwashed are you? I mean, that would be terrible, (_not really_), but if you need an evil wizard to slay, I'm your guy."

"The gate will be opened," came a voice. "When I command it."

_Oh Goddesses help me._

He doubted they would. In truth, he doubted they'd do anything. People might pray to one or all of the Goddesses, but he had to ask, if they existed, what evidence was there that they had any interest in safeguarding the land they created? Where were they now, as he turned around to see Zelda walking towards him?

"So…" Link said. "Will you command it?"

"In due course," she said. She gestured back to the garden, specifically a stone seat. "Come. I desire to talk."

"Well, that's nice, but I don't particularly desire to…" He trailed off, seeing the look that she gave him. "Sure. Of course. Anything for your grace."

There was a flash of something in Zelda's eye, but it was so brief that he could only guess what it meant. It barely mattered though. She turned around and walked to the stone chair. After giving the guard in the tower a dirty look, Link followed her. Slowly. Very slowly.

_Hookshot. Need the hookshot. Get over the walls, dive into the river, swim like a mighty fish to freedom!_

He shook his head. He wasn't that insane. Not yet at least.

Zelda reached the chair first and took a seat, remaining elegant and poised. She patted the stone beside her.

"Sit," she said.

Link just stood there, staring. Years had passed since he'd first seen Princess Zelda. When he'd rescued her from the castle dungeons and brought her to the Sanctuary. Back then, they'd both been younger, and indeed, her face had changed with the passing of time. But it wasn't just that, he reflected. There was an authority to her now. The meekness in which she'd followed him with all those years ago was gone. And he couldn't help but notice that her hair was longer, her eyes were harder, and her chest was-

"Are you going to stand there like a stuffed bear? I said, sit."

"Excuse me, princess," he murmured. He nonetheless took a seat.

Authority. She still had it. He'd realized that weeks ago, the moment she'd stepped onto the field with him and Cadence. Throwing fireballs, conjuring blue shields, teleporting in flashes of green light…it made a person like him notice.

"I should let you know," Zelda began. "That you are by rights my subject. I could, if I so desired, order you thrown into the dungeon here and now, never to see the light of day again."

Link glanced at the guards over by some roses, still keeping an eye on the princess. He found himself fingering the hilt of his sword.

"But I am not that person, and by the grace of the Goddesses, I never will be." She smiled, and Link felt his heart skip a beat. "So I will ask that you listen and answer, and then, by my word, you will be free to go. Does that sound fair?"

After a moment's hesitation, she said "yes, your grace."

"No," she said. "Not grace. Until I receive the mantle of queen, that is not a title I have earned."

"I think you've earned…" He trailed off. "Well, sure."

"I've earned…what?"

He shrugged.

"Must I order that you answer?"

"Just…" He took a breath – he hadn't talked this much with anyone for a long time. "I guess…"

"What?"

"I guess seeing you incinerating monsters and generating diamond shields. Gives a man…perspective."

"Perspective?"

"Yes, like…I dunno…"

He could have put it more simply. But saying "you're capable now, and not some helpless damsel I have to protect from rats" didn't seem the best way of putting it. Still, the way she laughed, the way she moved the hair from her eyes…maybe she did get it?

"You've saved me twice already," she said. "Both times, from the hands of Ganon." She sighed. "I will ask something of you Link, but I must confess – the second time, with the oracles…I made a vow that day. That I'd never need saving again. That if the sword was not fit for my hand, then magic would be."

She clicked her fingers and Link fought the urge to recoil. A ball of fire appeared in her hands – the same type he'd seen her use against the monsters over the last few weeks.

"Din's fire," she said. "The simplest of the three spells I learnt, but I must confess, arguably the most useful."

Link nodded – he had to agree.

"Of course, the other Goddesses are not without their gifts," Zelda continued. "The wind of Farore, and the love of Nayru…their magic too, I mastered. Long before Cadence and the Necrodancer."

Link remained silent – he couldn't contest anything Zelda had said, but he wasn't sure where this was going.

"None of this was exactly approved of by my father," Zelda continued. "Still, the library of this castle is vast, and it speaks of one of my ancestors mastering such magics. So I reasoned, if she could do it, why not I?"

"Think you did a good job," Link said.

"And for that I thank you," she said.

"No, I mean it. The way I saw you take out those moblins especially, I…what?"

Zelda was giving him a strange, almost sad look.

"What?" he asked again.

"You're smiling," she murmured. "I can't remember the last time I saw you smile."

Link's heart, once light like a feather, now felt as heavy as a stone.

"I believe it was when you returned to Hyrule from the Great Sea," she continued. "When I greeted you, the look on your face, the sadness in your eyes…I feared that I might not see your smile again."

"With respect, your gr…I mean, my lady…I don't think it's that relevant."

"Is it not? Perhaps." She sighed – Link could tell that she wanted to say a lot more, but was suppressing her words. "What happened Link? What happened when you left Hyrule?"

"Nothing."

"Don't lie to me Link – I don't doubt your bravery, so please don't insult my intelligence."

"I'm not insulting-"

"The truth," Zelda said. "Tell me why you changed, and by my word, the gate will open."

Link just stood there, his mind racing.

He could lie to her he supposed, but he doubted that would work. He could tell her the truth, that he'd stumbled into the dream of a talking fish and was pining over an imaginary girl, but then Zelda would think he was crazy. Granted, it didn't really matter what Zelda thought of him – they were acquaintances, nothing more – but he figured that if it didn't matter, why not just tell her the truth?

"I lost someone," he said.

He wouldn't tell her the truth. He wouldn't lie. But maybe that place in-between…maybe that would preserve his pride, and guarantee his freedom.

"Lost someone?" she asked.

"Someone who was…close to me," he said. "Someone whom I couldn't save."

"I see."

What she saw, Link couldn't say – her face, her eyes, they were like a mask.

"I think about what happened," Link continued. "And…and I can't help but feel that what happened over the last few weeks was the best thing to happen to me. Like…like I'm meant to do this, you know? That there's always going to be me, or, some other me, doing…things."

"Doing things," Zelda murmured.

"Doing things," he repeated. "I…" He got to his feet and began pacing around. "It sounds insane, but the moment I picked up the Master Sword in the Lost Woods…it was like…like I'd already held it. Like I was meant to wield it. And ever since I returned it…"

Zelda wasn't looking at him. She was looking at his left hand. It was shaking.

"It's like I need it," he said. He held up his left hand and grabbed its wrist with is right. "And I know it's wrong – that sword's there for a reason, and I can't just grab it, but…but I feel like…" He sighed. "There. That's me. Insane."

"You're not insane," Zelda murmured.

"Aren't I?"

"No." She got to her feet as well. "I think you're…"

"What?"

"I cannot say," she said. "There are tales told of warriors, heroes, soldiers, of those who could never return to simple life after calamity had been ended. And if the histories of this realm tell me anything, it's that it's always been one step away from calamity." She looked away, in a direction Link recognised as northwest. "Who knows how many have wielded that sword?"

Link couldn't say. But when Zelda looked back at him, when she smiled…it did his heart and mind some good.

"I think we'll leave it at that," she said. "The gate will be opened for you."

He gave a small bow. "Thank you, my lady."

She began walking towards the tower. "I feel I should tell you," she said. "That having seen you on the field of battle, you're a most excellent dancer."

"A what?!"

"A dancer," she said, stopping and looking back at him. "When the Necrodancer's minions played their song, when you fought and kept to their rhyme, lest the end come…well, you're good at it."

"Excuse me, I do not dance."

"As someone with two eyes to see and a brain to think with, I beg to differ." She turned around and walked over to him. "I knew you could swing a sword, but not that you could dance as well as that. Even Cadence was impressed."

"Zelda…I mean, your grace, I mean…" He suppressed a word that no woman would ever want to hear. "I can't dance. Whatever I did, that was the Necrodancer, alright?"

"So, everything I saw was just through magic and music?"

He nodded.

"I see." Her eyes twinkled. "Then obviously we'll have to unlock your potential." She put her right arm on his shoulder, and took his right arm with her left.

"Um, princess? What are you doing?"

"Teaching you how to dance," she said. "Here. Right arm goes on my hip."

"Princess, I…I really don't think…"

"Oh indulge me Link, I'll have to go through this wretched ritual three times before the month is out. I might as well get some practice in."

He wanted to say something, but no words came out of his mouth. It just opened and closed like a fish gasping for air.

"Now then," she said. "This is a simple motion, where we move together in beats of three. Here, I'll lead."

She did so. First to the right, then to the left, then right, left, right, left, and so on.

"Is this it?" Link asked.

"More or less." She smiled at him. "Not bad. You haven't stepped my toes yet."

"I haven't done what?"

"And…there we go," Zelda said, wincing, before the smile returned. "Well, no matter. Like I said, you're a good dancer."

He wasn't sure about that. This dance, if it could be called such a thing, appeared ridiculously simple.

"So, um, do I do anything else?" Link asked as they went back to the right.

"Well, if you wanted to stay true to form, you'd spend the night telling me how beautiful I am, and how much wealth you can offer the kingdom, and that you would be honoured if I bequeath you a rose for the tourney on the mourn." Zelda led them back to the left. "Still, I believe silence suits you. I will take honesty over flattery any day."

"Oh. Right," Link said, as she led them back to the right. "But I mean, you are beautiful, and-Zelda stopped dead.

"And, I…I mean…"

"This is where we end it," Zelda said, breaking her grasp, her cheeks reddening.

"It's ended?"

"Yes. It's where you bow, and I curtsey." She did so, and Link bowed awkwardly.

"And that's the end of the dance." She smiled and patted him on the shoulder. "Not bad. I told you were a good a dancer."

"I'm not a…" He trailed off. "Thank you, my lady."

"Oh so many have thanked me at the end of one of these rituals," she said bitterly. "Still, I will take compliments when they're genuine." She turned to the guard in the tower, and made a motion with her right hand. Apparently it meant something because a second later, the drawbridge began lowering.

"Now I must go," she said. "And no doubt you have monsters to slay, swords to find, damsels to save…"

He shrugged. "More or less."

"Which of the two though? More? Or less?"

"I…um…"

She laughed. "A jest, nothing more. Now I must go. Duty calls to me, and ever I am the mule to be mounted."

Link wanted to say something, but decided against it. Like, maybe she was a horse, rather than a mule, but that didn't seem like an appropriate compliment. So he just stood there as he watched her walk towards the castle's inner entrance, her two guards following him. One of them gave him a look as if to ask what had happened.

_I would love to tell you, _Link thought. _Believe me._

With naught a word, he turned around to exit the castle gate. To the lands of Hyrule. To freedom. To adventure. To a lifetime of it, and yearning for something more. Yearning for what he could never have.

Or that was what he thought. But for whatever reason, after what had just happened…

He wasn't feeling too bad actually.


End file.
